New Delhi: Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Thursday said Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus.
WhatsApp said it was suing NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, that is reportedly behind the technology that helped unnamed entities' spies hack into phones of roughly 1,400 users spanning across four continents and included diplomats, political dissidents, journalists and senior government officials.
On the same, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted saying Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform WhatsApp. We have asked WhatsApp to explain the kind of breach & what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens.
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Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform Whatsapp. We have asked Whatsapp to explain the kind of breach and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/YI9Fg1fWro
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform Whatsapp. We have asked Whatsapp to explain the kind of breach and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/YI9Fg1fWro
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019Government of India is concerned at the breach of privacy of citizens of India on the messaging platform Whatsapp. We have asked Whatsapp to explain the kind of breach and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of millions of Indian citizens. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/YI9Fg1fWro
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019
Government is committed to protecting the privacy of all Indian citizens. Govt agencies have a well-established protocol for the interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central & state governments, for clearly stated reasons in the national interest, he added.
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Govt is committed to protecting privacy of all Indian citizens.Govt agencies have a well established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central & state governments, for clear stated reasons in national interest. 2/4 pic.twitter.com/atiSqXl9Wf
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Govt is committed to protecting privacy of all Indian citizens.Govt agencies have a well established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central & state governments, for clear stated reasons in national interest. 2/4 pic.twitter.com/atiSqXl9Wf
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019Govt is committed to protecting privacy of all Indian citizens.Govt agencies have a well established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in central & state governments, for clear stated reasons in national interest. 2/4 pic.twitter.com/atiSqXl9Wf
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019
Ravi Shankar Prasad said those trying to make political capital out of it need to be gently reminded about the bugging incident in the office of the then eminent Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during UPA regime. Also a gentle reminder of the spying over the then Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh.
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Those trying to make political capital out of it need to be gently reminded about the bugging incident in the office of the then eminent Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during UPA regime. Also a gentle reminder of the spying over the then Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh. 3/4 pic.twitter.com/d5CqIKK7jG
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Those trying to make political capital out of it need to be gently reminded about the bugging incident in the office of the then eminent Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during UPA regime. Also a gentle reminder of the spying over the then Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh. 3/4 pic.twitter.com/d5CqIKK7jG
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019Those trying to make political capital out of it need to be gently reminded about the bugging incident in the office of the then eminent Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during UPA regime. Also a gentle reminder of the spying over the then Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh. 3/4 pic.twitter.com/d5CqIKK7jG
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019
These are instances of breach of privacy of highly reputed individuals, for personal whims and fancies of a family, he added.
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These are instances of breach of privacy of highly reputed individuals, for personal whims and fancies of a family. 4/4 pic.twitter.com/akeyFJaSXm
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">These are instances of breach of privacy of highly reputed individuals, for personal whims and fancies of a family. 4/4 pic.twitter.com/akeyFJaSXm
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019These are instances of breach of privacy of highly reputed individuals, for personal whims and fancies of a family. 4/4 pic.twitter.com/akeyFJaSXm
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 31, 2019
Meanwhile, Whatsapp did not say on whose behest the phones of journalists and activists across the world were targeted.
Refusing to divulge identities or the exact number of those targeted in India, WhatsApp said it had in May stopped a highly sophisticated cyberattack that exploited its video calling system to send malware to its users.
The mobile messaging giant said it had sent a special WhatsApp message to approximately 1,400 users that it has "reason to believe were impacted by this attack to directly inform them about what happened".
While the messaging giant didn't disclose the details or the number of people affected in India, a WhatsApp spokesperson said: "Indian users were among those contacted by us this week".
WhatsApp has over 1.5 billion users globally, of which India alone accounts for about 400 million.
Denying allegations, NSO said it provides "technology to licenced government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime" and is not "designed or licensed for use against human rights activists and journalists."
Meanwhile, the Indian IT Ministry has written to WhatsApp, seeking a detailed response by Monday.
A senior government official told Media that WhatsApp has been asked to give a detailed response to the entire allegations and the extent of users compromised in India.
WhatsApp had on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in a California federal court against NSO Group, which allegedly developed the spyware, saying an attempt was made to infect approximately 1,400 "target devices" globally, including some in India, with malicious software to steal valuable information from those using the messaging app.
WhatsApp said it "believes the attack targeted at least 100 members of civil society... this number may grow higher as more victims come forward".
WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart said these victims include human rights defenders, journalists and other members of the civil society across the world.
"Tools that enable surveillance into our private lives are being abused, and the proliferation of this technology into the hands of irresponsible companies and governments puts us all at risk," Cathcart said in an op-ed in The Washington Post.
Cathcart asserted that WhatsApp was committed to the fundamental right to privacy and that it is working to stay ahead of those who seek to violate that right.
A cybersecurity research lab at the University of Toronto, Citizen Lab, had helped WhatsApp investigate the hacking incident.
In response, NSO said: "In the strongest possible terms, we dispute today's allegations and will vigorously fight them. The sole purpose of NSO is to provide technology to licenced government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to help them fight terrorism and serious crime. Our technology is not designed or licensed for use against human rights activists and journalists. It has helped to save thousands of lives over recent years."
"The truth is that strongly encrypted platforms are often used by paedophile rings, drug kingpins and terrorists to shield their criminal activity. Without sophisticated technologies, law enforcement agencies meant to keep us all safe face insurmountable hurdles. NSO's technologies provide proportionate, lawful solutions to this issue," it said.
NSO said any use of the product other than to prevent serious crime and terrorism was a misuse.
"We take action if we detect any misuse. This technology is rooted in the protection of human rights - including the right to life, security, and bodily integrity - and that's why we have sought alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to make sure our products are respecting all fundamental human rights," it said.
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